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The purpose of this study is to examine the reported architectural approaches and governance mechanisms for digital business ecosystems (DBEs). A systematic literature review is employed, in which 92 relevant articles are selected for analysis. This study provides an overview of articles, reports the formal modeling notations, modeling viewpoints, and design patterns used for DBEs in the reviewed articles, discusses DBE governance mechanisms, and provides evidence of the alignment between DBE architecture and DBE governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If employees have access to additional relevant knowledge and information, they can be more innovative, which is a reason for many firms to ally. Key in an alliance is the sharing of existing and creating of new knowledge, but transferring knowledge inside an alliance is not obvious or easy. Knowledge exchanged within an alliance must be perceived as relevant in order for it to be used. If individuals in an alliance can readily perceive knowledge to be relevant, the right knowledge is transferred and is transferred in an efficient manner. Building on stickiness of knowledge and knowledge relevance theory, we examine the relationship between an individual's job experience as well as intrinsic motivation on the one hand, on their perception of the relevance of others' knowledge on the other hand. These relationships are positively moderated by an individual's favourable position and connection strength in the network of individuals engaged in the alliance, respectively. We find a weak but insignificant negative relationship between job experience and perceived knowledge relevance. Being well‐positioned in a network brings out the positive effect of job experience, as expected, whereas connection strength does not further enhance the positive effect of intrinsic motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formal institutions, most prominently laws, impact society and also the economy by changing actors' behavior. How that impact can be conceptualized is in need of more elaboration. Klammer & Scorsone's (2022) recent publication opens avenues on how to understand the ways in which institutions can over-instruct, under-instruct and ambiguously instruct the behavior of actors. Sources of and direction for institutional change can then be better understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important way for the agrifood industry to continue to feed a growing world population as well as reduce its environmental impact is to extensively adopt Information Technologies that will "datafy" the industry. While the promises of datafication are high, the realization is lagging behind. We identify and discuss from an institutional economics point of view three related issues that help explain needs run behind realization: supply of data is separated from use of data; data quality, interoperability and standardization; and data completeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actors, including economists, carry a responsibility for their actions and the consequences thereof seems obvious. In economics and among large numbers of economists this notion that economists should be responsible for their actions and the consequences thereof is not shared widely, as the financial crisis of 2007–8 and its aftermath indicated. We address related issues: economics has not really allowed conceptual space for the concept of responsibility. Responsibility, as commonly understood, is a duty or obligation of one particular individual towards others, such as individuals or institutions including the state. Individuals can thus be 'held responsible' for how their (lack of) actions affect others in a broad sense. We define responsibility as one's self-limiting and self-assumed obligation towards others to be aware of how one's actions have consequences for others – consequences which one is obliged to factor in when deciding upon an action. In this sense, we build on the work of Young ([2006]. Responsibility and Global Justice – a social connection model. Social Philosophy and Policy, 23 (1), 102–130.). Failure to factor in the consequences of one's actions on others trying to avoid damage to others, even more than seeking others' benefit, is a failure to behave responsibly. We discuss what this entails for the discussion about a professional code of conduct for economists. A code of conduct (rather than a law), i.e. a set of agreed upon rules to guide preferred behaviours of economists about what it means to act responsibly, will only prescribe to the extent that economists choose to have it affect their behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suggesting socio-cultural values are selectors of institutions and institutional practices, and institutions in turn are selectors of (economic) behaviors, we investigate what explains the persistence of institutions that were aligned with past socio-cultural values when the values subscribed to in society have fundamentally changed. What, in other words, explains the persistence of obsolete institutions? We do so by investigating the labor market situation for academics in post-communist societies in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient knowledge and information transfer within as well as across organizational boundaries are of a proven importance for survival and growth of firms. At the same time, however, on the one hand, knowledge available within organizations is not always used to its full capacity, at times at the considerable detriment of organizations involved. Furthermore, on the other hand, despite the recognized importance of an efficient interorganizational knowledge transfer, many collaborations have not delivered on their promises. Merges and acquisitions deals, for instance, are prone to fail. The goal of this article is to propose and illustrate a conceptual argument why knowledge and information transfer that crosses departmental and firm boundaries, and in doing so often also domain or disciplinary boundaries, is challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: All firms' business models are based on their interdependencies with other parties in their ecosystems. The Internet of Things (IoT) is beginning to fundamentally disrupt the agri-food industry, forcing the ecosystem to change. When an ecosystem is transforming, the interdependencies among its actors can create friction. Technology providers and core actors should consider these interdependencies as they update their strategies for value creation and capture. The purpose of the present research is to consider what it might take for agri-food firms to capitalize on these interdependencies by moving from traditional business models to business models based on collaboration and open innovation. Design/methodology/approach: The present paper draws on data from four online focus groups that we created to discuss how to co-create the business models agri-food firms need in a constantly changing environment. The paper presents an application of phenomenon-driven research (PDR), an engaged methodology. The study method enables novel pathways to develop and implement innovative solutions. This study draws on the interaction of theory and practice and involves multiple stakeholders with varying roles in the agri-food ecosystem. Findings: The authors found that any open innovation setup in agri-food needs to constantly reconfigure itself to balance the needs of farmers and the needs of the market. This interplay can only support the IoT-enabled ecosystem if continuous interaction and negotiation occur among various stakeholders of the food system. When the farmers' needs and the market's needs are aligned, the space for developing a collaborative and open business model is prepared. Originality/value: The insights gained from this study inspire action and commitment to common goals when developing collaboration-based business models (CBMs). The paper offers insights for players in the agri-food industry who are considering CBMs in the course of digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Stage-Gate process is a tool used by innovation managers to rationalize resource allocation the innovation process by breaking the innovation process into different stages, and determining progress and prospects at gates using pre-determined criteria. This study determines the performance impact of investing financial resources relatively heavily in the front-end or early stages of new product development (NPD) projects. Data was collected for NPD projects for one of the largest consumer electronics firms in the world. Investing relative more resources in front end activities positively affects performance. The degree of newness of an NPD project positively moderates this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Special Issue presents the seven best papers from the 30th IFAMA 2020 World Congress, reflecting the richness and quality of the agri-food business and management scholarship that IFAMA facilitates and promotes. They reveal the diversity of research topics and current practices related to the most pressing agri-food business and management issues. Whether the papers discuss vegetable producers cooperatives in Cambodia, innovation intermarries and enhancing collaboration in Sweden, or information nudges in ornamental plant labeling in the United States, the papers in this Special Issue illustrate the need for variegated professional and academic skills and expertise represented in IFAMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose to analyze the supply chain not (just) as interconnected firms where products move from primary production, through processing, down to final consumer (user), but rather as collaborating firms that exchange information in order for each to function. This opens the analysis of supply chains up for institutional economic analysis and also allows one to acknowledge that information can be used strategically. Yet, information exchange can also be hampered because of a supply chain's structure—we focus on this. The difficulty of exchanging information is particularly important when an industry and its supply chain newly emerges or is disrupted. In such circumstances the way in which information is presented and used is not institutionalized yet in a way that works for the parties involved. We show the relevance of this approach to understanding supply chains by referencing the agrifood supply chain as it is on the cusp of being disrupted by the extensive use of Information Technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is about individuals collaborating to share existing knowledge and create new knowledge. Increasingly these collaborations cross organisational boundaries, like in R&D alliances. Many of these alliances are coopetitive, partners cooperate, but also compete with each other. Although knowledge sharing in coopetitive settings has been studied on the firm and the unit level, the micro (individual) level is underresearched. We consider individual alliance-related work performance of alliance members in a (moderately) coopetitive R&D alliance, drawing on social network theory and the organisational coordination perspective. We examine the influence of individual alliance members' position and level of activity in the alliance advice network on their work performance. We also examine the substitutive role of the alliance formal network, representing the official channels of knowledge sharing. We suggest that individuals' work performance is better explained by their position in the formal network, rather than in the advice network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we suggest an institutional economic approach to classifying government policies, thus offering suggestions to improve the expected outcomes of government policy as well. We elaborate the argument for industrial policy-government policy to directly influence investment and resource allocation decisions by private companies. By adopting dimensions for industries that are stable over time, we can suggest which policies are suitable for which industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines individual knowledge sharing in a coopetitive R&D alliance. R&D is increasingly carried out in an R&D alliance setting, where individuals share highly specialized tacit knowledge crossing firm boundaries. A particular challenging setting is the coopetitive R&D alliance, where partner firms partially compete and individuals may leak competitive knowledge. This setting has been studied on the level of the partner firm. We want to deepen insights by examining the individual level. Drawing on the motivation‐opportunity‐ability framework, we study the influence of individuals' job experience (ability) on their performance in the alliance. We also examine effects of two‐ and three‐way interactions between job experience, a central position in the social alliance network (opportunity) and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. We find a positive association of job experience with individual performance, a positive interaction between job experience and extrinsic motivation and a positive three‐way interaction between job experience, central network position and intrinsic motivation, and discuss the impact of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a competitive business environment at the Bottom of the Pyramid smallholders supplying global value chains may be thought to be at the whims of downstream large-scale players and local market forces, leaving no room for strategic entrepreneurial behavior. In such a context we test the relationship between the use of strategic resources and firm performance. We adopt the Resource Based Theory and show that seemingly homogenous smallholders deploy resources differently and, consequently, some do outperform others. We argue that the 'resource-based theory' results in a more fine-grained understanding of smallholder performance than approaches generally applied in agricultural economics. We develop a mixed-method approach that allows one to pinpoint relevant, industry-specific resources, and allows for empirical identification of the relative contribution of each resource to competitive advantage. The results show that proper use of quality labor, storage facilities, time of selling, and availability of animals are key capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies practices that can facilitate knowledge transfer in university–industry (U–I) research partnerships by systematically reviewing extant literature. We aim to contribute to the theoretical development in the field of academic engagement and propose that knowledge transfer provides a valuable perspective. We started our review with identifying barriers and facilitators of knowledge transfer. Extant literature identified knowledge differences and differences in goals resulting from different institutional cultures as important barriers to knowledge transfer. They result in ambiguity, problems with knowledge absorption and difficulties with the application of knowledge. Trust, communication, the use of intermediaries and experience are found as facilitators for knowledge transfer that help to resolve the identified barriers. Our analysis offers practical advice for the management of academic engagement. Finally, we identified questions for future research based on inconsistencies in extant research and open questions we encountered during our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even when the neoliberal ideology of the free market was more dominant than it now is, the state was involved in economic activities that could be undertaken by private firms. State capitalism takes increasingly diverse forms, including beyond direct, partial or even indirect ownership. This paper briefly reviews some of these forms without claiming to be exhaustive as the shape state capitalism takes differs widely across the institutionalized contexts of countries. We assess state capitalism using Polanyi's double movement framework and argue that this framework needs adaptation to novel forms of state capitalism that include, e.g., state-owned multinationals and sovereign wealth funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How markets and firms function is critically related to what knowledge and information is exchanged between whom, how quickly. Exchange of (symbolic) information needs to be properly institutionalized in order to be understood by others, on the one hand, but, on the other hand, cannot avoid being ambiguous to some degree as well (Dolfsma et al. 2011). Ambiguity allows for the dissent that allows for innovation in the broadest sense of the term. Institutionalization of communication is community-specific. The tension between institutionalization of and ambiguity in communication explains why innovations cannot depart too much from what is known and accepted in a community to be (ultimately) accepted as a legitimate novelty. The view of markets and firms as settings for institutionalized communication and knowledge exchange offers a perspective that institutional economists are well positioned for to offer insights on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review and assess the different strategies that what we call Info-firms can deploy in the markets that they serve. In many markets, a firm’s competitive advantage is derived from its information position. Firms that actively and extensively collect customer information may develop a number of strategies to increase their competitiveness. We refer to such firms as info-firms – for some firms, this is all that they do: collect and sell data about consumers. Info-firms can target either customers or other firms, and they target either existing or adjacent markets. A 2 × 2 matrix characterizing strategies is introduced. Some strategies are known, but their effects are more pronounced on online markets because of the overwhelming amount of data available, while other strategies that are discussed are new. The strategies that info-firms develop and use change the dynamics in value chains substantially. The strategies adopted affect the market and value chain dynamics and determine which parties in the market are likely to benefit (most).Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper.Findings The strategies that info-firms develop and use change their dynamics in value chains substantially. Some strategies are known, but their effects are more pronounced on online markets because of the overwhelming amount of data available, while other strategies are new.Research limitations/implications Drawing on an economic theory, an evaluation of the strategies that info-firms develop is offered, identifying which parties stands to gain the most.Practical implications The effects of the use of strategies used by info-firms have been largely overlooked, and yet, strategies adopted affect the market and value chain dynamics and determine which parties in a market are likely to benefit (most).Originality/value The classification of strategies that info-firms can develop, and the likely effects on the market dynamics and economic prospects of different market players has not been discussed in the literature so far. A comprehensive and novel perspective is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial development in sub-Saharan Africa is perhaps more affected by the quality of institutions than that of other regions. We investigate what alternatives managers may have and what their firms would need to function in case the institutional furniture they encounter is of low quality. We find that, in high quality institutional environments, management spending effort to deal with the authorities and to navigate regulations negates the effect of the institutional environment. Managers do not need to spend such efforts. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that the positive effect of high-quality institutional environments on firm performance is enhanced by making informal payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese acquirers spent $38 million on mergers and acquisitions in 1990, and $666.1 billion on mergers and acquisitions in 2016. As the Chinese merger market has grown, so too has the literature on its performance. Little is known, however, about with whom Chinese firms can best do business. We aim to fill this gap. We suggest that because the liabilities of distance, foreignness, and outsideness complicate acquisition performance, targets in countries and regions which add fewer of these liabilities will outperform those that add more. We plot the overseas expansion of Chinese acquirers, and compare the performance of Chinese acquisitions, within the Greater China region, within the Confucian cultural sphere, and between Asian and the West. In each case, we predict that increasing cultural distance decreases performance. Then, because the Continental European governance system is institutionally more familiar to the Chinese system than it is to the Anglo-Saxon system, we consider the Chinese experience in each of these two systems. Our results largely support our hypotheses built on the partner location performance hierarchy argument, but we also point to the limits of the generalizability of existing literature in understanding the Chinese market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The rising need to innovate and obtain knowledge from more distant knowledge sources calls for new innovation strategies and a better integration of other external actors who lie outside the traditional automotive supply chain. Such an open innovation strategy challenges organizational boundaries both on the firm and supply chain level, yet our understanding of the functioning of such boundaries and how they can be managed to allow for purposive knowledge flows is limited. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach In a longitudinal case study, the authors trace the development of the first open innovation network in the German automotive industry over a period of five years based on archival data, semi-structured interviews, and field observations.Findings While the automotive industry is advanced in collaborating with suppliers for innovation, routines for assessing and integrating ideas from sources outside the supply chain are still underdeveloped. The authors show which current knowledge boundaries pose obstacles for open innovation initiatives in this industry, and how they could be mediated through the involvement of gatekeepers.Originality/value The authors challenge and clarify the notion of the “permeability of organizational boundaries” in the open innovation literature and investigate the role of gatekeepers for open innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysing a unique, domain-similar database including all horticulturalists in a major flower-producing country, this paper shows that a firm’s central position in a network significantly improves its financial performance. The effect of strategic positioning in a network is in large part mediated through its enhanced innovativeness. Strategically positioning in a network of firms contributesmoreto firm performance,bothdirectly as well as indirectly, than other strategic options a firm has available, such as seeking scale, seeking to diversify, pursuing cost advantages, or locating in a cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Firm survival or reproduction does not occur as a matter of course. Especially under circumstances in which uncertainty and equivocality prevail is firm reproduction potentially problematic. Uncertainty prevails when there is insufficient or inadequate information to assess a situation, equivocality when the information available is multiinterpretable. Firm routines, social networks in a firm, and an organization’s identity can explain how a firm reproduces. We offer suggestions as to which of these will contribute to firm reproduction under what circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Unrealized potential of entrepreneurial activities in developing countries has often been attributed to missing formal market-based institutions. In new institutional economics, the concept of ‘voids’ is suggested to describe the absence of market-based institutions. In reality, however, ‘institutional fabrics’ are always and necessarily complex and rich in institutions. No societal sphere is institutionally void. In this article, we contribute to existing literature on entrepreneurship and institutional economics by presenting a framework for studying the richness and complexities of institutional fabrics, as well as ways in which entrepreneurs respond to institutions. Distinguishing four types of institutions relevant for entrepreneurs, we analyze case study data from Ethiopia, and discuss how ‘tensions’ between potentially incompatible institutions result in behavioral frictions. Some entrepreneurs play the complex institutional environment and benefit from the tensions in it, whereas others may drown into the institutional ‘swamp’ they face. Policy makers should acknowledge that institutions not only result from formal policy making and that in many cases a diverse set of institutions is needed to facilitate market exchange and solve constraining tensions. The diversity that results from initiatives of institutional entrepreneurs may create a more effective institutional environment for development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The literature on “open innovation” so far focuses almost exclusively on strategic issues. In this largely conceptual paper we propose behavioral foundations for knowledge exchange and knowledge sharing to address this gap in the literature. Innovation and knowledge development that result from knowledge transfer, is an uncertain and cumulative process that typically involves a number of parties. Knowledge transfer between people and firms has been fruitfully studied from a structural or network perspective. The social network literature however, faces an “action problem”. Focusing on structural elements such as an agent’s position in a network and the types of relations entertained cannot explain why actors actually do share knowledge. The exchange of knowledge is elusive and is a discretionary act for the people involved, certainly in the case of open innovation (OI). It is argued here that social network analysis is to be complemented by the concept of gift exchange, drawing on social exchange literature. Gift exchange – following Mauss’ dictum to “give, receive and reciprocate”– establishes obligations between people especially under circumstances of ambiguity, which explain why and how knowledge exchange relations are established, persist, and may also end. Relationships in a social network and the social capital that inheres in these cannot be drawn on at will to exchange knowledge. These obligations established by gift exchange between individuals who share a connection explain why agents exchange knowledge with each other even in the absence of markets or hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The first five merger waves were US-led events. In this article we show that the largely over-looked sixth wave (2003–2008) emerged in all regions simultaneously. Because of this, and building upon interconnected literatures – which: (1) suggests that agency is a big predictor of merger performance; (2) distinguishes between three distinct governance traditions; and (3) argues that the Anglo-Saxon system puts the most effort into protecting investors and aligning interests, and the Confucian system the least – we predicted that Anglo-Saxon acquirers would create value in the sixth wave, and Confucian acquirers would destroy it. We find the opposite to be true and show that Chinese acquirers, in particular, created the most value in the sixth wave. In attempting to explain why, we find that China outperformed its Asian neighbors while doing the same thing, and outperformed its Western peers while doing what the literature suggests that they shouldn't do. This not only points to the limits of the generalizability of the existing literature, but supports the suggestion that Chinese acquirers are ‘different’. We call, therefore, for additional research into understanding Chinese and Confucian acquirers using the standard comparative merger data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In some societies, entrepreneurs coming from outside of a community (i.e., outside entrepreneurs) are more active than entrepreneurs from within the community (i.e., inside entrepreneurs). Institutions and relationships that entrepreneurs entertain may hamper insiders from starting or succeeding. Institutional economics and anthropology suggest that, rather than outside entrepreneurs having more resources, the case may be that inside entrepreneurs could be hampered by existing institutions that blind and social relations that bind. Outsiders, however, may be less inclined to generate societal value in a community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we first provide a brief introduction into social network analysis, focusing on the measures and approaches that are used in the empirical contributions in this special issue. Second, we discuss the role of social networks in new product development. Social networks are inherently multilevel; we consider four 'levels': networks inside a firm, networks that cross firm boundaries, networks between firms, and networks that reside outside of the firm. Third, we discuss these four levels and highlight some of the extant research. We summarize and position the eight papers in this special issue along these four levels. Together, we argue, these papers provide an interesting coverage of this burgeoning field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networks are an important driver for successful innovation, both at the individual level as well as the organizational level. Recent research has also shaped that networks within teams can enhance performance. Innovative project teams are embedded in an organizational context, however, and teams typically consist of people with expertise from diverse backgrounds, and from different units. Team members may have ties to other teams, business units, and hierarchical levels. Although it seems clear that such ties can influence team performance, remarkably little research has focused on what is here referred to as vertical and horizontal cross-ties. Previous research may have ignored the possibility that vertical and horizontal bridging ties may have different performance outcomes. Although the literature suggests that diversity of input, or horizontal cross-unit ties will benefit team performance and innovativeness, there is reason to believe that ties to higher levels in the organization might have an effect on project team performance and innovativeness too. This article in particular studies the role of vertical cross-hierarchy ties. In an exploratory analysis combining quantitative and qualitative results, it is distinguished between horizontal cross-unit and vertical cross-hierarchy ties and their contribution to new business development ( NBD) project performance, thereby making a substantial contribution to both academic literature and managerial practice. Our study is based on a multiple case-study approach of several NBD project teams in a large European financial service provider. Our results show that successful innovation project teams are characterized by a large number of cross-unit ties in combination with a large number of cross-hierarchical ties compared with less successful project teams. Additionally, proof is found that vertical cross-hierarchy ties should be concentrated rather than scattered across project members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of board diversity on the extent to which firms invest in R & D. Design/methodology/approach – Based on data collected about the composition of the board of directors, the authors determine statistically if the characteristics of directors predicts the extent to which firms invest more in R & D. Findings – The authors find, unexpectedly, that tenure diversity lead firms to invest less in R & D, while education diversity and gender diversity makes firms invest more. Gender diversity positively moderates education diversity as well, strengthening the effect found. Research limitations/implications – The sample of firms the authors include in the paper is restricted due to the overwhelming difficulty in collecting data about the composition of boards of directors, and their backgrounds. Practical implications – The paper offers insights into how boards of directors might need to be composed in order to try have firms invest more in R & D. Social implications – Innovative firms are more competitive and more sustainable. Knowing what contributes to a firm’s investment in R & D is thus of great social value. Originality/value – The authors include a much larger set of diversity measures than any previously published study, and provide counter-intuitive findings that have implications for practice, society, as well as theory about team composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distance between actors in an organization affects how they interact with each other, and particularly whether they will exchange (innovative) knowledge with each other. Actors in each other's proximity have fewer conflicts, more trust towards each other, for example, and are thus more involved in knowledge transfer. Actors close to others thus are believed to perform better: by being more innovative, for instance. This theory of propinquity's claim resonates widely in the literature and has intuitive appeal: 'people are most likely to be attracted towards those in closest contact with them' (Newcomb, Th. (1956). American Psychologist, 11, p. 575). Knowledge that a focal actor receives from alters who are close is more readily accessed, better understood and more readily useable. At the same time, however, and in contrast to the what the theory of propinquity suggests, knowledge that a focal actor receives from alters who are at a greater distance may be more diverse, offer unexpected and valuable insights, and therefore give rise to innovation. In order to understand these opposing expectations, scholars have indicated that distance must be conceived of as multifaceted: individuals can be close to each other in one way, while at the same time distant in another. No prior paper has extensively studied the effects of distance as a multifaceted concept, however. This study offers two distinct contributions. It argues, first, why some instances of distance affect the opportunity to interact with alters, potentially lowering an actor's performance, while other instances of distance affect the expected benefits from interaction. The latter would increase an actor's performance. Secondly, this paper is the first study to test empirically the expectations about how seven different measures of distance affect an actor's innovative performance. Innovative performance is measured as both creative contribution and contribution to knowledge that has immediate commercial use (patents). In the setting of a large research lab, it is found, contrary to expectations, that distance does not hurt individual innovative performance and sometimes helps it in unexpected ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We show that contacts in formal, informal and especially multiplex networks explain transfer of innovative knowledge in an organization. The contribution of informal contacts has been much acknowledged, while that of formal contacts did not receive much attention in the literature in recent decades. No study thus far has included both these different kinds of contacts in a firm, let alone considered their combined effect. The exact overlap between formal as well as informal contacts between individuals, forming multiplex or what we call rich ties because of their contribution, especially drives the transfer of new, innovative knowledge in a firm. Studying two cases in very different settings suggests these rich ties have a particularly strong effect on knowledge transfer in an organization, even when controlling for the strength of ties. Some of the effects on knowledge transfer in an organization previously ascribed to either the formal network or the informal network may actually be due to their combined effect in a rich tie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emphasizing the dynamics in economies and industries, Schumpeter points to entrepreneurs carrying out 'new combinations'. His work, and in particular the Theory of Economic Development, is often interpreted as praising individual entrepreneurs setting up new firms to contribute to an industry's innovativeness. This has come to be referred to as the Schumpeter Mark I perspective. Later, however, in his Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Schumpeter has rather suggested that large incumbents are best positioned to contribute to an industry's innovativeness (Schumpeter Mark II). In this discussion, however, the possibly different effects of structural as opposed to dynamic industry competitiveness is often not taken into account. In addition, the contribution of new and small firms to industry innovativeness are often conflated. Using New Product Announcements as a measure of innovation, we find that industries dominated by small firms prove consistently and significantly more innovative than industries where large firms dominate. Taking account of industries' structural and dynamic levels of competition, we find that high existing and increasing levels of new firms entering an industry, exercising what Schumpeter called the 'entrepreneurial function', actually decrease industry innovativeness. We conclude that the contribution of small firms in terms of industry innovativeness is different from that of large as well as new firms, suggesting a Schumpeter Mark III perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm reorganizations deeply affect employees. Management can reorganize in different ways, focusing on costs or acknowledging the involvement of employees. The latter implies following a social contract that complements incomplete (formal) labor contracts. Little is known about how the way in which firms reorganize affects their subsequent performance. Should a firm reorganize more socially, keeping the concerns of employees in mind as evident from an existing social contract, or should it focus on control the future direction of the firm and the costs made? We show that reorganizing more socially does not increase firm performance ex post, but taking more time when reorganizing does. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how to nourish innovation during the course of a downsizing event. Drawing from an array of intra-organizational network studies, we show how management can use its understanding of the existing formal and informal networks to rewire connections between employees. Downsizing always leaves scars. Yet tough choices need to be made in tough times. In such times, innovation efforts are easiest to cut since their returns are uncertain and will only arrive in the future. Innovation is known to suffer. Cutting on innovation however may simply postpone the inevitable by poorly equipping a firm for future survival let alone competitive positioning. Design/methodology/approach – The insights presented in this article are based on research and consulting work over the past years with a number of leading companies in industries varying from financial and information technology services, to engineering, trading and professional service firms (a.o. Atos Origin, Equens, Siemens, Deloitte, ING, Academia, DSM, Friesland Campina, Shell, Philips). This work centered on understanding how to orchestrate downsizing without hampering the interpersonal network of relations that constitutes the innovative DNA of the firm. To examine this process, we used organization network analysis techniques to visualize the networks that facilitate the transfer of innovative knowledge at a variety of organizations. Through a series of interviews in combination with analysis of the innovation networks pre- and post-downsizing, deeper understanding of the characteristics of the guardians of innovation was gained. Personal innovation activity and value of inputs were measured and these were correlated with the network position prior and post-downsizing. Findings – Orchestration of downsizing is a delicate and crucial task for management. There is a natural tendency, when deciding who to retain, to mostly look at the knowledge and capabilities that an individual holds. Without connections to others in the firm, however, even if the knowledge someone holds is relevant, it will not be developed further. In this paper, it is argued that a crucial ingredient of downsizing is for management to use its understanding of the existing formal and informal networks so it can rewire connections between employees keeping our findings in mind. Research limitations/implications – Downsizing requires managerial agility. While typically of strategic nature, the consequences of downsizing may have considerable negative operational consequences, disrupting organizational routines, when management does not tread carefully. When deciding on who to retain and who to let go, value attributed to individual knowledge and capabilities commonly play a leading role in guiding these managerial decisions. The true value of these knowledge and capabilities however, will not flourish without a supportive social infrastructure to leverage them within the organization. Without connections to others in the firm even the brightest idea will not be developed further. Successfully managing a downsizing even requires management to use insight in the existing formal and informal networks present within the organization to actively rewire connections between employees bearing our findings in mind. Without attention to properly retaining some wires and rewiring other social contacts, and particularly the ones that nourish innovation, downsizing becomes self-defeating. Practical implications – Managers need to take an end-to-end view of their innovation efforts, spotting firm-specific strengths and weaknesses and tailoring innovation efforts in a way that is appropriate to their firm. In times of downsizing, innovation efforts are easiest to cut, as their returns are uncertain and will only arrive in the future. Innovation is known to suffer. At the same time, however, cutting on innovation may [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three major surveys of professional journalists, in 1976, 1986, and 1996, suggest that the vast majority consider themselves to be neutral, objective, and balanced observers, whose role is merely to provide information. But how neutral is the media, in terms of its orientation and effects on the behavior of the markets? In this paper, we unite a number of literatures to suggest that by choosing what event to report, how much and how frequent to report an event, and by choosing what descriptive tone to adopt in their coverage, the media has a non-neutral impact on the economy. We report evidence to suggest that: (1) the media helps set the public agenda, by promoting certain events and causes, for better or for worse; (2) the media influence the public's perception of risk, by disproportionately sensationalizing risk and by emphasizing probable negative consequences over probably positive ones; (3) the media influences elections and their outcomes; (4) the media influences the public's perception of the manager, the reputation of the firm, and the goods that the firm produces; (5) the media shapes consumer sentiment and the consumers' willingness to spend; and (6) the media shapes business sentiment and influences both firm- and market-level behavior. In doing so, we demonstrate conclusively that the media is not neutral: the media alters the public's perception of reality. In other words, we suggest not only that the media reports the news, but also shapes the world in which we live. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the prospects of a banker's oath, the epistemic aspects of economic practice, and the power of speech acts in ethical oaths in economics and business.

The authors reflect on the journal "Review of Social Economy" (RoSE). They states that RoSE has published articles that covers relationship between economics, ethics, and social values since 1942. They mentions the changes that will be applied in the journal such as the introduction of a "Speaker's Corner" which will features papers that cover related social economics issues and the scale back of book review section to thematically related books.

Research in the domain of 'Innovation Studies' has been claimed to allow for the study of how technology will develop in the future. Some suggest that the National and Sectoral Innovation Systems literature has become bogged down, however, into case studies of how specific institutions affect innovation in a specific country. A useful notion for policy makers in particular, Balzat and Hanusch (2004 Recent trends in the research on national innovation systems Journal of Evolutionary Economics 14(2): 197-210) argued that there is a need for NIS studies to develop complementary and also quantitative methods in order to generate new insights that are comparable across national borders. We use data for patents granted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to map innovation systems. Groupings of patents into primary and secondary classes (co-classification) can be used as relational indicators. Knowledge from one class may be more easily used in another class when a co-classification relation exists. Using social network analysis, we map the co-classification of patents among classes and thus indicate what characterizes an innovation system. A main contribution of this paper is methodological, adding to the repertoire of methods NIS studies use and using information from patents in a different way. Policy makers may also find benefits in the social network analysis of the complete set of patents granted by the WIPO to firms and individuals in a country. Social network analysis indicates what innovation activity occurs in a countries and which fields of technology are likely to give rise to innovative products in the near future. We offer such analysis for the Dutch and Indian Innovation Systems. This social network analysis could also be done for a sector innovation system, and we do so for nanotech to determine empirically the knowledge field relevant for this emerging scientific domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the idea that institutional reproduction is not obvious and that institutions are vulnerable has significant conceptual implications. Institutional vulnerability can arise through communication between actors in a common language. To apprehend this requires an elaboration of John Searle's (1995, 2005) argument that language is the fundamental institution. Ontologically, language delineates and circumscribes a community. A community cannot function without a common language, and language at the same time constitutes a community's boundaries, allowing for focused and effective communication within a community. Communication through language introduces ambiguity as well, however, and so institutional reproduction, mediated by language, is a deeply contentious process. Communication across boundaries may particularly "irritate" a system, as Niklas Luhmann has argued. How can institutions then be re-identified through change? Searle's general form for institutions is in need of elaboration. We develop arguments by drawing upon Luhmann's (1995) systems analysis and notion of communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]